Trota of Salerno (12th Century)

Trota is credited with compiling a book on women's health that was widely used in the 12th century called the Trotula. Historians consider the medical text one of the first of its kind. She was a practicing gynecologist in Salerno, Italy, but little else is known about her.

Trota was a famous authority on obstetrics and a renowned midwife in Salerno. Her fame spread as far as France and England in the 12th and 13th centuries. A Latin text that gathered some of her therapies (and even recounted a cure she had performed) was incorporated into an ensemble of treatises on women's medicine that came to be known as the Trotula. Gradually, readers became unaware that this was the work of three different authors. They were also unconscious of name of the historical writer, which was "Trota" and not "Trotula." The latter was thenceforth misunderstood as the author of the whole compendium.

These misconceptions about the author of Trotula contributed to the erasure or modification of her name, gender, level of education, medical knowledge, or the time period in which the texts were written; this trend often resulted from the biases of later scholars. Trota's authentic work (including a collection of her cures, known as the Practical Medicine According to Trota) was forgotten until it was rediscovered in the late 20th century.

Known for
Practical Medicine According to Trota

On Treatments for Women

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